One Headlight
by Shi Tsuki
Summary: Their father is gone, their mother is dead... What did Al and Ed have left to lose? A lot... This is a different take on the night things went horribly wrong.


(YAY! It's done! Enjoy!)

**One Headlight…**

The sun was already setting, but the passage of time hadn't phased Edward. And as Alphonse stared up at his brother, he wondered if it ever would.

The tears had already dried on the younger boy's cheeks, leaving dark and glistening stains that flowed from his eyes. But Ed, on the other hand, hadn't shed a tear. The entire time, those yellow orbs of his had been fixed emotionlessly on the gravestone before them. Al found himself wondering if the older boy had even blinked in the hours they stood there.

He felt he had to break the silence, out of fear that his elder sibling would turn to stone if he didn't move soon.

"Brother?" Al spoke, voice soft and quivering from suppressed sobs. "I'm cold…. And Hungry too…"

Ed didn't respond.

"Edward?"

Still no answer,

Al sighed, laying his forehead against his knees. His small body shuddered with another onslaught of tears.

"H-how…" the boy whispered, "How are we going to live with out her?"

Edward seemed to understand his brother's words, even though they were muffled and choked. He closed his golden eyes and sighed. "I don't know, Al." That said, he turned and made his way down the other side of the hill.

Al stood, then took off after Ed, trying to wipe away salty rivers at the same time. "Ed! Wait!" His momentum only gained as he tore downwards, reaching ever closer to the only family he had left. "Ed! Wait! Please…." He kept running and would not stop until he rammed into Edward, who had finally complied with the younger's whishes. This only made Al cry even more, as he wrapped his thin arms around his brother. "I'm sorry Brother… I'm sorry…"

Ed said nothing as he placed his hand on his brother's head, his fingers running through the sand colored locks. "It's not your fault, Al," he murmured, resting his cheek next to his hand, taking in his brother's scent. And he bit back tears, letting Alphonse cry in his arms.

**Come on try a little**

**Nothing is forever…**

Shouts and crashes woke Alphonse from his dreamless sleep. It was the only escape he'd had in the recent events: sleep. It was the only place he could go, the only thing he could do, and forget everything. But someone had to take him away from it. It took a few moments for him to recognize those shrieks. They were Ed's. He was shouting at the top of his lungs, though his words were unintelligible. He opened the door slowly, daring to venture where he wished he didn't have to.

Why was Ed so angry? He couldn't understand it… That was until he came upon their father's study, where they had spent countless hours studying their beloved science.

A book sailed dangerously close to Alphonse's head as he peered inside. He made a small noise of surprise and side stepped out of the way. Books didn't fly on their own. It defied the laws of nature. So he deducted someone was throwing them. And that someone was his sibling.

Blue eyes blinked, taken aback by the damage done to the room. Books were lying everywhere, papers torn and scattered. What had Ed done? Their father's books! His notes! The very things that they had cherished for so long! Why had he destroyed them? And he stood there; his body heaving with still unshed anger, guilt lining his silhouette.

Alphonse slipped in carefully, as to not invoke his brother's wrath once more. "Brother…" He whispered, back against the wall, "What are you doing?"

Edward whirled around to face the younger boy, his shoulders still heaving.

Al shivered, but bent down and gathered the notes and pages. "Brother, Dad's stuff… Why did you –"

"I hate him, and this stupid alchemy." Ed said plainly. The rage on his face, however, did not dissipate.

Alphonse blinked, utterly shocked. "Wha-what?" Hated alchemy? This was serious. Thou Al said nothing else, his features explaining everything he would have said.

"That's right." Edward's fists clenched then relaxed in rhythm. "I hate alchemy. Stop looking at me like that! Don't you see Al? Didn't you see? Oka-sama didn't like it because we did something! It was because she saw him through it! And he killed her! He killed her Al! He killed her!"

Al looked at the floor, holding the sheets of paper close to him. So that was it… The hatred that had built up because of their father's disappearance… Their mother had waited tirelessly for him to return, and ended up dying from a sickness that she had told no one about. She was in denial it had seemed; that she was sick, that he would return.

But this was overboard in Al's eyes. "It was an innocent death, Brother…" Yes, he had to be the voice of reason now. "Innocent…"

Edward slumped his shoulders, and his hands hung limply curled. He turned again. Al looked up, eyes brimming with tears. Now all he could see was the back of his brother's blonde head.

The spoke not a word, the silence heavier than it was earlier in the day.

This time it was Ed who broke the hush. He ran over to a book, the spine broken, as it lay open faced to a page that gave false hope. "That's it Al! We'll bring her back to life!"

"Ed!" Alphonse cried, horrified. "No one's preformed human alchemy successfully! What makes you think we can do it?"

"It'll be easy…" Edward flipped through the book's pages, fingers moving in a blur. "All we need is to provide the substances found in the human body…"

"The soul, Brother! What about the soul?"

Ed looked at his sibling and smiled. It was genuine, and comforting. But it had the opposite effect on Al.

"What if it doesn't work?" he whimpered.

Ed closed the book. "Trust me. It will work."

**There's got to be something better than**

**In the middle**

"There. Every substance in the human body. An exact amount, an exact duplicate." Ed admired the work he and his brother had compiled in the middle of the transmutation circle. "Now all we need is a soul. Let me see your hand." He flashed the blade of a knife, a smirk crossing his lips.

Al drew back a bit. "Brother!"

Ed laughed. "Oh it won't hurt that much. Don't be a baby."

"What are you going to do?" Al asked, puzzled beyond reason.

"What is a soul? It's your life force isn't it? And that's what your blood is. We have her blood," Ed slid the blade across his palm. "We have her soul…"

Al held his hand out timidly, and winced as Edward did the same to him.

"Ok?"

"Ok."

And they turned their hands over, droplets of blood falling to the middle of their pile.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

They backed up, placed their hands simultaneously down on the edge of the circle. They concentrated. They felt the power rising.

"It's working, Brother! It's working!"

"I know Al! It's work –"

It all happened so fast, Edward couldn't tell what was real and what was imagination anymore. Screaming filled his ears; pain swirled his body in sheer agony. And suddenly, he couldn't feel his legs.

Alphonse's voice penetrated over the noises in his mind. "BROTHER! SAVE ME! HELP ME!"

"AL!" Ed screeched, fumbling blindly for any sign of his sibling. "I'm coming Al!"

"BROTHER!" And then a scream. Oh god, what was happening? What was going on? Someone had to help… Someone had to see, had to hear, had to come and save them both. And then Ed saw it, Al's hand reaching for any ray of hope.

Edward grabbed it, and held for dear life. "I've got you Al! I have you!"

"BROTHER! Don't let me go! Don't let me go!"

And Ed held on, trying desperately not to let his brother slip from his grasp. It was futile. As futile as trying to bring something back from the dead… And it was then that Edward realized this. But he wouldn't let go…

"AL!" He cried tears streaming down his cheeks in helpless sobs. "AL, COME BACK!"

But all was gone… All was over…

And something moved in the darkness.

**Me and Cinderella**

**Put it all together**

It was becoming clear once more, the world was. It was no longer that dark fog that seemed to have loomed over his eyes for God knows how long. He could see images, floating by him in crystal clarity. Had he died? Where was Ed? Al didn't know… He was flying along some highway of pictures, memories. So clear…

It was if he had reached the end of his string too fast. It snapped him back with force to break his spine. No… What was happening? He was dead! He was going to hell for trying to bring his mother back! Ed! Where was Edward?!

Alphonse wanted to scream but the words choked in his throat making him gag silently. It was if there was no such thing as sound anymore… It was sucked away by the vacuum that was now sucking away all the color. And then, it spit it back out at him. Al was lost in the sea of every pigment imaginable. They over whelmed him, consumed him, and pitched him back into utter blackness.

It was only then he could feel something solid beneath him. But there was something so horribly different. The boy had a difficult time putting his finger on what exactly it was.

When his vision returned, he found that it too, was not the same. It was as if he were looking through a pair of binoculars. Everything seemed normal and focused enough, but there were wide rims on either side of his peripheral vision. It was so odd. He had never needed glasses before, so why now?

Wait…

The boy scrambled to his feet with clumsy unease, the floor seeming to slip from under his feet. He was in such a rush he didn't notice the metallic clamor that sounded as he made his hurried movements.

"Brother?" he called out, ignoring the echo. "Brother?"

The reply that came to him was weak, hushed. "Al… I'm here…" It came from the slightly moving mound of flesh in the middle of the room.

Al made his way to it, horrified. "Brother!" He reached out a hand to touch him, to make sure he was real. The poor boy wasn't sure anymore, but he hoped this time he was right. But he caught sight of this new… body he was in. It ripped a gasp from him, a sharp, terrified noise. "Oh Brother! What's happened to me? What happened to me? Brother!" His voice shook with unreleased fear. It shuddered throughout the ensemble of metal that was now his body. The resonance was haunting, not shedding any light on the situation.

Ed coughed, rolling over with much protest. And this was voiced with agonized groans. "It's the only way I could save you… To put your soul in that… armor… suit of armor…" He cried out a bit as he attempted to face his brother.

Another gasp escaped Alphonse as he gazed upon the older boy's figure. The crimson pool was only detected by the ebony puddles that escaped either side of Edward. And the sources were evident for they were… gone… His brother's right arm, and left leg were no longer there, leaving behind ragged stumps from which blood continued to flow profusely.

This only added to the poor boy's panic. So much blood had already left Edward's body, and he wasn't sure if there was any amount of time left. He wanted to cry, but found this to be impossible. No, he couldn't cry anyway… His brother had saved him the best way he knew how, and it was now Al's turn to return the favor. No… Not favor… Love…

"I'll save you, Brother," he whimpered, scooping Ed delicately into his arms. But something caught his eye, writhing in the shadows. "What is that?!" Al cried, holding his brother closer to him.

Ed attempted to shield the other's eyes, only to realize that the hand was no longer there. "Don't look…" He demanded, his breath slowly leaving him, "It wasn't human…"

Al couldn't stand it. The thing they had raised was a monstrosity. He was now a walking steel factory. And his only family left was dying in his arms. "I'll save you, Brother!"

With that he ran, ran to the only place he knew left to go; to Winry.

"HELP HIM PLEASE!"

**We can drive it home…**

Days passed.

But one questioned remained in the back of Al's mind.

"Brother… Do you still hate Alchemy?"

Edward looked up at his brother, a wide grin upon his face, the first smile in weeks. "Of course not, dummy. What ever gave you that idea?"

Al shrugged, the metal of his shoulders creaking. "Just wondering."

Ed laughed a bit. "You can come up with some crazy ideas." He reached into the pocket of his coat, fingers grasping the match that lay just inside. "But it's time to say goodbye."

"Goodbye, house." Al waved a giant hand, remorse filling his eyes.

And Ed pulled out the match, lit it, and let it fall to the floor as they walked through the door.

**With one headlight.**

Sorry the ending is so abrubt. I got lazy! Wah! Don't hurt me! But I though it was a good way to end the story, because we all know what happened anyways.)


End file.
